Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $38.42 and last traded at $38.74, with a volume of 93334 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on QGEN. Baird R W lowered shares of Qiagen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Qiagen from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.67 price objective (down from $48.61) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.50 price objective (up from $40.83) on shares of Qiagen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Qiagen from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $52.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.71.

Qiagen Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.61 and a quick ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.87.

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.01. Qiagen had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 13.92%. As a group, analysts predict that Qiagen will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qiagen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Qiagen during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Qiagen by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Qiagen by 152.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Qiagen in the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Qiagen by 148.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN NV is a holding company, which engages in the provision of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. The company sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA, and proteins from blood, tissue, and other materials.